Kings continue fire sale, send Carl Landry to New Orleans

As a Kings fan, this seriously bummed me out. Carl Landry for Marcus Thornton and cash considerations? Why don’t you just walk up the stairs of ARCO and slap every Kings fan in the face? It’d have the same effect.

Landry wasn’t exactly an integral part of the Kings. I know that. He only started 16 games this season, but he was a reliable post player and he was good for 12 points, 5 rebounds a night. And he was traded for Marcus Thornton? A second round flash in the pan who’s shooting 41 percent this season? That’s all the Kings could get for the main chip in the Kevin Martin trade?

That’s not just sad. It’s pathetic.

The Maloof brothers may be down on their luck. They may be in serious conversations to move the team to Anaheim. But that doesn’t excuse a move like this — a move so financially motivated, Fanhouse may as well have headlined it “Kings trade Landry for cash considerations, Thornton.”

Landry makes $3 million this season. His contract expires this summer. It’s not like he’s breaking the bank. Did the Kings (read: Maloofs) really need to ship him out like that — so distastefully, with such a lousy return?

Couldn’t they have at least traded him back to the Rockets for Terrence Williams or Chase Budinger? At least those guys have some upside.

But it’s not about basketball anymore in Sacramento (hasn’t been for awhile). It’s about the bottom line, about patching the growing hole in the Maloofs’ pockets. There’s no respect. Not for Landry. Not for the fans. Not for themselves.

It’s pathetic. I’m ashamed to root for a team that operates like this. But, hey, what can you do?

About Patrick Crawley

Sports editor and blogger who writes primarily about the NBA. Hope you enjoy the site. Contributors welcome.